"There's more of them than us. You'll just end up another dead nigger."
— Andre Spier
Gang in Blue is a 1996 American made-for-TV action-thriller co-directed by Mario Van Peebles and Melvin Van Peebles. The two star alongside Josh Brolin, J. T. Walsh, Cynda Williams, Stephen Lang, and Zach Grenier.
Michael Rhodes is a black cop constantly at odds with his white supremacist colleagues. Meanwhile, Keith DeBrulers is a rookie white cop who fits right in with his bigoted colleagues. However, after the two of them are partnered up, secrets about the precinct come to the fore - like that popular officer Moose Tavola is secretly the head of a murderous vigilante group known as the Phantoms targeting minorities.
This film contains examples of:
- Affably Evil: Lt. Eyler makes blatantly racist statements and espouses cynical realpolitik with a sincerely grinning, jovial demeanor.
- Angry White Man: Moose is consumed with a virulent hatred for black people merely existing nearby him. The sight of black teenagers talking several feet away from him is enough to set him off into an angry, drunken rant, and he later beats them to death with a baseball bat.Moose: Look at that shit! Goddamn I hate that. Fuck them goddamn niggers. They got no respect. They piss on the whole world, they rule the whole fucking city!
- Arc Words: Both sympathetic and unsympathetic characters continuously try to persuade others not to take a course of action by invoking "the big picture".
- Badges and Dog Tags: Keith DeBruler is a former Marine who worked as a radio telephone operator. Except it's part of his cover story.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Moose Tavola and Lt. Eyler, the leaders of the Phantoms.
- Bigot with a Badge: Most of the police officers are blatantly racist and have nothing but contempt for people of color, even if they're other cops.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Phantoms are all killed. However, through the intervention of a corrupt cop, Eyler is able to shoot DeBrulers before being killed by Rhodes. The film ends with DeBrulers being rushed off in an ambulance in critical condition while Rhodes looks on downcast. On another level, Rhodes Did Not Get the Girl; Anita chooses DeBrulers over him and he accepts it gracefully..
- Bolivian Army Ending: DeBrulers is shot several times by Eyler. The film ends with him being rushed off in an ambulance in critical condition while Rhodes and Andre watch on.
- Dirty Cop: The Phantoms are cops who perform vigilante executions and force local street gangs to pay them to look the other way.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Eyler had a late son who was killed during the United States invasion of Grenada
who he still loves dearly. - Evil Is Petty: Moose and his gang are petty, racist bullies with the emotional maturity of frat boys. While robbing Chinese gangsters, Moose spends the entire time mocking them with a horribly racist Chinese accent. This about sets the tone for their behavior throughout the movie.
- Freudian Excuse: Eyler formed the Phantoms after seeing another cop be murdered by a black street gang. Eyler extrajudicially executed them all, and decided to keep at it afterwards.
- Greater-Scope Villain: During the climax, Eyler rants about how the Phantoms are merely a single cell of a larger community and that there are similar gangs all across the country. During the ending, another police officer covertly slips Eyler his gun as he's being arrested so he can escape.
- He Knows Too Much: Despite Mirk having no intention to testify against the Phantoms at the grand jury hearing, Moose murders him anyway just to be sure.
- Hypocrite: Moose spends the whole film self-righteously hectoring his fellow officers about remaining loyal to each other, but pointlessly murders his own friend Mirk just on the off-chance he might have testified against him to the Grand Jury.
- Karmic Death: Beckstrem tries to set up Rhoades to be murdered by Gangbangers, sending him into their hideout with an unloaded gun. Rhoades escapes - but one of them spots Beckstrem and guns him down in a panic.
- Killer Cop: The Phantoms are a militia of white supremacist cops who murder any non-white people they decide are criminals.
- Libation for the Dead: When Beckstrem's colleagues celebrate his memory, Eyler brings an extra beer to pour out in his honor. Moose drinks it instead.
- Mentor in Sour Armor: Rhodes' mentor Andre Spiers is an old black cop who never made it out of being a uniformed officer despite serving for over two decades. He's a protective mentor but cynical about their ability to actually meaningfully fight back against people like Moose, and advices Rhodes to keep his head down.Andre: Don't write no check with your mouth that we can't cash.
- Minority Police Officer: Rhodes is a new hire and one of only a few black officers in the precinct. His white colleagues cynically regard him as an affirmative action hire.
- Retirony: Lampshaded with Mirk. He's only a few weeks from retirement and characters constantly worry he won't live to see it out of superstition, because as Moose jokes, "you know how these things go." He ends being murdered the night after he retires.
- Shame If Something Happened: After DeBruler is partnered up with Rhodes following Beckstrem's death, he complains about it to Lt. Eyler. Eyler strongly implies without outright saying that he plans to pull a Uriah Gambit.Eyler: Troublemakers like your partner and all that affirmative action bullshit, it's on the way out. We still have to tolerate minorities, but not for long.
DeBruler: How long do I have to wait?
Eyler: Something happens to Rhodes, he'll get a full department funeral, just like Beckstrem got. We'll all be there. - Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Rhodes and his partner Beckstrem hate each other. Beckstrem - a racist white cop who idolizes Moose - is resentful that Rhodes won't play ball and go along with the blue wall of silence.
- Token Good Cop:
- Rhodes and DeBrulers are the only ones willing to take a stand against the Phantoms, though DeBrulers is very much a case of Good Is Not Nice.
- Downplayed. Mirk is the only white officer who isn't virulently racist (though he isn't without his own prejudices) and is kind to Rhodes. However, he's still willing to turn a blind eye.
- Undercover Cop Reveal: DeBrulers is an undercover FBI Agent trying to take the Phantoms down.
- Vigilante Militia: The Phantoms, a group of racist white cops who murder any person of color they designate a criminal.
- Viking Funeral: The precinct burns a canoe at the docks in such a manner in Beckstrem's honor.
- Wham Line: Throughout the first forty minutes, DeBrulers seems to be just as much of a Bigot with a Badge as the rest of the white cops. Until he tells Anita: